1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio interactive system, in which a plurality of users may interact with one another through a speech, in an on-line chat system utilizing a computer and a computer network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Popularization of the computer network makes it easy to do works, to play games, and to exchange life information through conversations of a plurality of users on a network.
Thus, there has been required more simple input means in place of keyboards so that even ordinary users can attend such a network conversation system (a chat system).
According to the conventional chat system, a sentence is inputted through operation of a keyboard, and a conversation is effected by transmitting the entered sentence.
However, it would be very difficult for ordinary users to operate the keyboard as to Japanese syllabary-to-Chinese character transformation and the like. This causes the input speed of the keyboard operation to slow down, and thus involves such a problem that the operator cannot follow a flow of the conversation. In order to solve this problem, there has been developed a system in which a conversation is effected through a speech.
FIG. 61 is a schematic construction view of the related art of audio interactive system. Here, for the purpose of a simplification, there are shown only two terminals A and B, and it is assumed that a conversation is made between the terminals A and B.
Each of the terminals A and B comprises audio input means 11A and 11B each for converting voice into an aural signal, such as a microphone and the like, and audio output means 12A and 12B each for converting an aural signal into voice, such as a speaker and the like. In such an audio interactive system, the terminals A and B are connected with one another via a communication line 1 under control of a router 2 so that a conversation is made between the terminals A and B by transmitting and receiving the aural signals or the sound signals.
However, the above-mentioned audio interactive systems are short of a bandwidth of a communication channel, and thus there simply exist systems which permit conversation between 2-4 subscribers.
Consequently, in order to allow a plurality of users to have a conversation through a network, it will be a subject that how the aural data, which are increased as the users are increased, are sliced.